Potato-setting machine



' Nov. 18, 1930. J. F. L JUNGDAHL POTATO SETTING MACHINE Filed Nov. 25. 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet 4l Patented Nov. 1.8, 193() UNITED STATES kJANNEFarmen: LJUNGDAHL, or sroonnotiyn`swnnnirL i if :Potrero-summe MAomNE shaped'projections for piercing; thefindividual potatoes," such conveying :means being intermittently movable so lthat the conveying y member for each drop tube is atrestin a po- Vsitionso that a needleshaped projection, or a group thereof, `is located beneaththe lower openend of leach drop tube when the damper therein'is" opened. l'lherebyrthe potato is caught'bythe needle, 'origi'oup thereo f,-as

' thereafter by the movement "of the `conveying ineans toi be transmitted to a setting tube, in

' f which the potatois'removed from the needle,

205 or `needle group, so that the same is dropped 'down into the'setting 'furrow by Y the intermediary of the setting tube.

' Asthe interdistance between the separate "potatoes insaid furrow shall be uniform and constant, it is clear that the frequency of movement/of Ythe damper: and the intermittently movable conveying means is dependent of the driving speed of the 'setting machine.

` yWhen using Vone single :setting device for each furrow, ther-driving speed of the ma- 'fchine must be' 'very low only, as the time re- ,quired for opening and closing of .the-damper wouldV be insuiicient, and the vpotato drop- *pin down on the damper would not: have su cient time for takingy a position of rest f vbeforetheopening of said damper. Therefore the machine is' provided-with? twoA or.V

ymore.completesetting devices foreach furrow to be set,`and each of said devices is pro- 40 Avided witha Vdrop* 'tube or the like having -theV necessary damper, anda corresponding *needlecarrying conveyor-means, and thereby thedampers and conveying means, which suitably'transmit the potatoes to one single *45.jsettingchute, are adapted totbe alternately set 'into' action at the driving of the machina In this manner the 'driving yspeed 1 may-be increased-two times or more, andthe machine willy nevertheless perform the 'setting inan even and uniform manner involving sufficient -interspaced relation throughout.

ported by wheels 2, and a suitable driving y The framing 1 serves asga support for arf .for the opening and closing ofthe -dampers' and for'permitting the separate potatoes to vtake-a position ofrest before being f fed out, whereby the dropping heightof the potatoes .can be chosen so large that they' will 55 be properly ailiXedV to the needle points before being conveyed further. f i Y' The setting tubes alternately delivering the Y potatoes to the same furrow, which tubes are suitably combined .with one singleisetting 60 chute finally conveying the potatoes totheir .places in the furrow, are each provided with Y af dampen-andsuch dampers arefconnected with the dampers provided in the drop tubes in such al manner, that'fadropfdamper bel: 65 vlonging tol one of the setting-'devices is opened f' simultaneously'with the setting damper belonging to the other settingdevice, andvice m versa.`V Hereby it is secured'that the setting of the potatoes in the A'furrow takesy plac-'ea'l 70 ternately from each of the'two setting devices in a completely uniform manner, so thatV the potatoesare'seti'n the furrow in equally An' embodiment ofthe invention isvde- 75 scribedjin thefollowingby reference to the accompanying drawing, in which 11 shows the parts of themachine needed forI an explanation of theV invention.

and seen in elevation 'partly in section.

, Fig, Qshows the same machine parts seen from the yfront side of the machine.V j

In the dra-wing, 1 represents the framing transmission being mounted lbetweensaid wheels and the settingjdevices nearer .de- `scribed in the following.

container 3 from which'thepotatoes are fed 90 outby ni'eans'of bucket elevators 4, each discharging the potatoes intola drop tube v'For each'furrowtobe set there are providedl twodrop tubes each combined with ai Sets/'95 ting tube? 6.a and both ofthel Setting tubes j discharge into 'fa common setting chute V6a conveying" the potatoes from bothofthe setting devices into the samenfurrow, which is ploughed up and filled again by suitable 100 shares or bills (not shown) in vthe common manner. l

In 'each dropping tube there is provided a damper 7, and the dampers in the coacting drop tubes are each mounted ona shaft 8 and 9 respectively, such shafts by means of links being each connectedkwith an arm l() and 11 respectively .rockably mounted on a fixed part 12 of the framing. The arms 10, 11 are interdistantly positioned in the path of travelr of pins 413 mounted .on .a wheel 14, so that said arms are alternately acted upon by the said pins at the rotationof the wheel 14 which is continuously rotated at the driving of the machine by means of a suitable transmission .from theshaft of the wheels 2. y rl`he .Wheel 14 serves for theintermittent .driving of a. wheelf15 on lashaft 16 which beneath each droprtube 5 carries a sprocket I Vwheel.17,.and around .this wheeland a wheel `18 is mounted a chain -1'9provided with a number of needles orneedle fgroupsQO. The wheels 14; and 15 are provided with coact* ing. caIn discs by means of which the wheel 15 `is kept fixed Yduring its periods of rest. `The construction is' of such a kind that, when :each vchain is at restfaineedle or group thereof 20 is in a central position `beneath the corresponding drop tube, when the vdamper v7 therein is opened, sothatfthe potato then dropping yis xedto the .upward- .ly pointing needle or needle grouplQO. .Further theconstruction is .of such a-kind that the aforesaid manner of vaction ltakes place needle t groups into the corresponding setting tube 6. Only one potato can at a time y be aixedto t-he needlefgroupat hand Vbeneath the lcorrespon,ding drop tube, and in case ,more potatoes should have entered the drop tube simultaneously, the rest of them will drop down into a fcollecting tray 22 Y which Ymay be .emptied into the container 3 ;.when.desired. Y

The .setting tubes 6v areprovided .with

dampers 23 mounted each :on a/shaft and 25 respectively, such :shafts Abeing provided with crank levers connected :with 'links 26 lmeans of the alte-r,mately`y functioning eet n :ting devices, evenif the machine ,drven t@ etae'reet are@ ,5

alternately at the one or other ofthe coactpose of Whipping o the potatoes .from the .and 27,1vespectively`and these :links arercou- Hereby it is of a certain importance that the conveying ofthe potatoes from the drop tubes 5 to the setting tubes 6 is performed by means of conveying chains 19 instead of by simple wheels provided with needles, as

would often be loose too soon and be thrown .-aboutlinan uncontrollable manner. By conveying the potatoes by means of the conveyor v'chains 19 `described above, the potatoes will not bepsubjected to any centrifugal actionV until the direction of travel of the chain is reversed around the wheel 118, .and atthat point vthepotatoes shall actually -.bejremoved from .the conveyor chain or'fromithe group of :needles thereon. yOnaccountof thek arrangement of the dampers 23 it is ztherebyof ,no .consequence ify the yloosening 'of the fpotatoestakes place a little sooner or later-during the .periods4v of movement ,y oflthe chains, .as

the potatoes due to said .dampers .-vvillnever-k theless ynotbe delivered into ``the furrow until Vdue therefore, and therefore theuniformv furrowwillbe secured.4 Itisobvious tozanyone skilled interdistance between thepotatoes seteinfthe in lart thatfthe machine may be .constructedforthe s simultaneous setting of two ormore furrows, and for, each furrowthe machine'is .to''be provided with .two combined V,setting jdevices adapted foran alternate 4functioning in the manner described above. The ,constructional particulars, especially for the interconnection of the dempers, may yof .course be varied wi-thin rather great limits withoutdeparting from' the principle .of invention, and tthe `invention is ,not limited .tothe I particulars .de-1':

scribed` above for the sake of explanation.

YWhatl claim and :desiretofsecure byLettersPatentiszl-f Y 1, A ypotato setting .machine CODQPISUg Y L container. forfthe potatoes .to fbe.set, two :drop tubes for each furrow,means for .conveying the potatoes from said .containerintothe drop tubes, a vdrop VVdamper in .each I drop tube,ian

`llO

intermittently movable conveyor means,posi v .tioned .beneath the lower openend of each-drop tube, driving means for both ofthe conveyors andadapted for-driving them alternately, a t

setting tube positioned iat the .disch-argefend vof'each conveyor, :a setting ydamperfinfeach .Y settingtube,-a common settingl chute leading fromthe discharge ends-of,both setting tubes into -the furrow` to be esst, driving A means yfor opening .and closingffof all of the dampers,

fand interconnection k.means between rsaid -tlampersgadapted for ,performingan opening ,and closing of thefd-rop` damper belonging :to Oneof thesetting. devices simultaneously with .theopeningandclosng ofthe setting-damper belongingito the othersettingidevieefandvice 2. A'potato setting machine as stated i11- claiin 1, comprising the additional feature that theconveyor meansk belonging to each setting device consists of an endless chain 'member running on morethan one Wheel and provided with needle means for axing the potatoes dropping vdovvn thereupon. v Intestimony whereof kI have signed my name to this specification p VJANNE FREDRIK LJUNGDAHL. 

